Nandita Jha
- Feb 13, 2023
- 4 min read

Women's T20 WC 2023, Group 2, IND v PAK: Richa Ghosh's 31* takes India past Pakistan

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, Group 2, India vs Pakistan: Ayesha Naseem's 43, Shafali Verma's 33 and Jemimah Rodrigues-Richa Ghosh's 58-run stand are top performances. India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets.

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, Group 2, India vs Pakistan: Jemimah Rodrigues-Richa Ghosh's 58-run stand helps India beat Pakistan; India beat Pakistan | Walking Wicket (Images: ©BCCI_Twitter)

Rodrigues-Ghosh's 58-run stand helps India beat Pakistan (Images: ©BCCWomen/Twitter)

Brief Scores: India 151-3 (Jemimah Rodrigues 53*, Shafali Verma 33, Nashra Sandhu 2-15) beat Pakistan 149-4 (Bismah Maroof 68*, Ayesha Naseem 43*, Radha Yadav 2-21) by 7 wickets

Player of the Match: Jemimah Rodrigues - 53*(38)

India Women beat Pakistan Women by seven wickets in their first match in ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 at the Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday. India chased down the target of 149 runs with one over remaining.

Renuka Singh Thakur needs to step up with the ball

Despite the win, India have to pay attention to their pace bowling attack to avoid leaking too many runs going forward in the competition. Renuka Singh and Pooja Vastrakar who lead the pace attack have to work hard on their bowling. Singh who bowled only three overs, conceded 24 runs with an economy of 8 runs per over; besides, she gave away 18 runs in her third over.

Its another matter that India were able to chase down the target with an over to spare but leaking runs in crucial games could hurt India’s world cup campaign. Someone like Renuka Singh Thakur who bowled really well in the Commonwealth Games Cricket Competition 2022, needs to deliver as Shikha Pandey is waiting in the wings to replace her.

India chase down Pakistan’s 149 with an over to spare

Pakistan notched up a competitive total of 149 on the back of skipper Bismah Maroof’s 68* and Ayesha Naseem’s 43*(25). Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof won the toss and decided to bat first. The start was not good for Pakistan as the batting line-up struggled a bit to put up a decent total. At the start of the 13th over, Pakistan were on 68 for 3. From thereon, they went to score 149 runs in 20 overs thanks to Maroof and Naseem’s power-hitting at the end.

India managed to chase down Pakistan’s score on the back of useful contributions from Shafali Verma (33), Jemimah Rodrigues (53*) and Richa Ghosh (31*).

Let’s scan the top three performances from the Group 2 game between India and Pakistan in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

Shafali Verma provides decent foundation for India

Chasing down a total of 150 runs, India got off to a steady start from opener Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia. But after Bhatia fell for a painstaking 17 off 20 balls, Verma took over the responsibility on her shoulders to help India get through. She scored some quick runs to keep the Indian scoreboard moving and take it past 50 runs in seven overs.

Verma scored 33 runs in 25 balls. Her strike rate was more than 133 and she gave a start that was needed by the team to go ahead and chase the total.

Jemimah Rodrigues’ 53* & Richa Ghosh’s impressive 31* prove crucial for India

Richa Ghosh, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper batter, showed nerves of steel and he power shots helped India when they needed her the most. The teenager played an aggressive innings of 31*runs in 20 balls with five fours. When the big guns struggled to play, Ghosh went on to hit three consecutive boundaries off Aiman Anwer’s over, which released the pressure from the Indian side, and gave them confidence to steer ahead.

All praise to Jemimah Rodrigues for her immaculate performance in a challenging chase. Rodrigues who found her groove after a long time, hadn't been getting scores for a long time. She scored an unbeaten 53 runs in 38 balls with a strike of above 139. Her fourth wicket partnership with Richa Ghosh of 58* is the best positive that the team could take from here.

Ayesha Naseem’s quickfire 43* helps Pakistan push to 149

Ayesha Naseem, a 16-year-old, who was not selected for the U-19 World Cup but for the T20 World Cup, showed her power-hitting. She scored 43 runs in 25 balls with two sixes and two fours at a strike rate of 170. Bismah Maroof and Naseem’s partnership of 81 runs in 47 balls helped Pakistan post a total of 149 in their allotted 20 overs which proved to be crucial and transferred the pressure from them to Kaur and co.

Naseem got lucky three times. Yes, it was Naseem’s luckiest day, she was first dropped on 35 runs by Radha Yadav, then Richa Ghosh missed a chance to stump her, and then Harleen Deol dropped her catch at the boundary which eventually went for six. Definitely, these misfieldings and missed chances hurt India a lot.

Statistical Highlights

Pakistan posted their highest score in T20 World Cups and it was the second-highest partnership for the fifth or a lower wicket in Women's T20 World Cup.
This is India’s highest chase in T20 world cups and the second-highest chase overall in Women’s T20 World Cup.

Points Table Scenario & What’s Next

India Women are placed second in the points table with 2 points from one game and net run rate (NRR) of 0.497. England lead the table with 2 points and an NRR of 2.767.

India will now face West Indies at the same venue on February 15.